Luther, along with a panel of Gatton College finance faculty members, will discuss what it means to mine bitcoin, whether or not it's a worthwhile investment, and the future role of digital currencies.

Schnatter Institute Director Aaron Yelowitz said, “It’s important, especially in a university setting, to explore a wide range of ideas. This event will be an open dialogue where we encourage those with different views about cryptocurrencies and their worth to converse with each other and the audience.”

Luther will be joined on the panel by UK finance faculty members Shane Hadden, founder of the Currency Report, a certified bitcoin professional and a chartered financial analyst; and Jon Chait, an entrepreneur who has served as CEO and chief financial officer of several global Fortune 500 companies.

Luther is an assistant professor of economics at Kenyon College, an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, and a fellow with the Sound Money Project. As of January 2018, he was ranked 27th on the Social Science Research Network’s Top 8,000 Economics Authors. Luther’s research focuses primarily on questions of currency acceptance and the role governments play in determining commonly accepted media of exchange. He has published articles in leading scholarly journals, including Economic Inquiry, Public Choice, and Contemporary Economic Policy. His popular works have appeared in The Economist, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report.

An internationally renowned expert on cryptocurrencies, Luther’s research has been cited by major media outlets, including NPR, VICE News, Washington Examiner, The Christian Science Monitor and New Scientist. Luther earned his master's and doctoral degrees in economics at George Mason University and his bachelor's degree in economics at Capital University.

The event is sponsored by the John H. Schnatter Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise. The University of Kentucky’s Schnatter Institute enhances public understanding of the connections among free enterprise, markets and individual freedom through rigorous research and open dialogue.

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